Paris Johnson selected No. 6 overall by Arizona Cardinals in first round of NFL Draft
COLUMBUS — Paris Johnson trusted Ohio State to get him to this point. The Buckeyes held up their end, and Johnson did, as well.
After just three years at Ohio State, Paris Johnson is officially a first-round draft choice. He was taken No. 6 overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2023 NFL Draft on Thursday night.
Johnson is the first offensive tackle from the Buckeyes program to be selected as a first-round pick since Taylor Decker in 2016, snapping a long drought. Johnson is the second Ohio State player to be selected in the first round Thursday night, joining quarterback C.J. Stroud, who went No. 2 overall to the Houston Texans.
This moment was years in the making for Paris Johnson, a former five-star prospect from Cincinnati who had the idea in mind of becoming a first-round pick since he was a high school player committed to the Buckeyes. Three years later, he has reached his goal.
“I knew that Ohio State could could give me everything I wanted to be three and out,” Johnson said at the NFL Combine in early March. “If I did everything right. It wasn’t going to come easy. It wasn’t something if I just sat back and waited, it would have happened.”
Johnson certainly didn’t sit back and wait. He found his way on the field as early as he could, even switching to right guard for a season just to get on the field and earn playing time. After a year at guard, Johnson moved back out to left tackle, where he always wanted to be.
Last season, Paris Johnson realized his full potential, going 11 games without allowing a sack on his way to becoming a consensus first-team All-American choice. He wasn’t a unanimous choice, as he was a second-team choice by the Associated Press, the only of the five major All-American selectors to not have Johnson in the first team.
Johnson credits all the work he put in for his accolades.
“I’m going against the best pass rushers each week. Just having those looks … the work I’m doing every day with Mike Sollenne — each and every day, I’m working plays with him. I’m doing technique with Willie Anderson. Coach [Justin] Frye helped me with the transition to tackle.
“It took a group of people to help me to get here.”
Now Johnson is officially there after three years at Ohio State. Paris Johnson is a first-round pick, selected No. 6 overall by the Cardinals.
